NORTH BENNINGTON — Officials at the Village School of North Bennington released a list this week of seven locals who have joined their board of trustees.

Jeb Gorham, Don McKenna, Jeanne McWaters, David Monks, Rachel Schumacher, Peter Niles and Meg Woolmington join local residents Brian McKenna and Eva Sutton on the board. Because the board oversees an independent school, its members are not elected. Biographies of the members of the board are expected to be posted to the website, vsnb.org, shortly.

The Village School of North Bennington, which will use the building and grounds of the North Bennington Graded School, is expected to open for the 2013-14 school year. The graded school, which is a public school, is scheduled to close at the end of the current school year so the independent school can open at the same site.

The School Board in the village, the North Bennington Prudential Committee, will continue to operate although they will now be considered a “non-operating district” because they don’t operate a public school.

On Tuesday, voters approved the North Bennington school budget of $2,317,535. The budget had to be voted in two parts by state law because North Bennington spent more per pupil than the state average last year and the proposed budget is more than last year’s budget adjusted for inflation.